I HAVE NEVER SEen a pvc barrel . plastics are not created equal
Rebuilding a pond, tips on bog filter?
- Thread starter dinm
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It is rated for holding water, made out of HDPE I think.
I currently don't have kink free hosing, I have flex now but it's grey, perhaps I can hide that too, but tough to hide the base where it's attached to the pump, even if algae covers it it will be noticeable. It's much less of an eyesore though when it's a corner which it is now and surrounded by big rocks.
With a lined bog I'd dig the same hole as this barrel, maybe a bit wider so no real benefit. I'd have to seam with that double tape which I'd have to pay 1.5x than I pay for the barrel itself, I mean I guess you get a lot of it so if I ever have a leak then its easy to fix but still easier to deal with the barrel I feel. The only thing there is to make the spillway work, the rest seems to me much easier to get going.
About the skimmer, mostly it sucking up fish. But with a lined bog it'd definitely be better, I just don't have a lot of space to work with and a barrel is easier to deal with than liner and seaming.
Fish can get inside a skimmer, but to me the biggest disadvantage is if you are really skimming anything of any bulk or volume - the skimmer basket can get full and if you don't empty it you can lose water or starve the pump. With a negative edge, my pond can skim for weeks and I never have to worry about the collection of debris affecting how the pond functions.
Prime example - the crabapple that drops bushels of blossoms in the pond every May - this would fill a skimmer basket in a matter of hours, multiple times per day:
I am just not sure how small can an intake bay or negative edge really be.
I thought about it though. And I assume for it to flow properly the negative edge needs to be on one side and the water flowing in on other, though that's for the skimmer too I think, but a skimmer I can put about anywhere I think which is a benefit. May be harder for me to pull off since I have a mature tree on one side, don't want to touch its roots.
That is food grade as far as I know. But I haven't ordered it yet. Waiting to see if I can find some locally, which I should be able to.
My main concern about a lined bog is not that I'd have a leak, but seaming, removing some of the rocks, would be just annoying. With a barrel while
As for painting the hose black, well I would, I just have no idea what's safe what's not, whether its gonna leak out some sort of chemical to kill all life in there.
Is it a good idea to plant sedges right by a low edge (where it overflows after a lot of rain?), I was thinking it's a good idea as the area would be mostly wet and great way to suck up some of that water.
My main concern about a lined bog is not that I'd have a leak, but seaming, removing some of the rocks, would be just annoying. With a barrel while
As for painting the hose black, well I would, I just have no idea what's safe what's not, whether its gonna leak out some sort of chemical to kill all life in there.
Is it a good idea to plant sedges right by a low edge (where it overflows after a lot of rain?), I was thinking it's a good idea as the area would be mostly wet and great way to suck up some of that water.
Be aware that the plants may indeed “suck up” the overflow, but they may also cause more water loss as the roots can create low spots or water to wick out of the pond.
So, I get the barrel tomorrow. I'm still a digging a 3ft hole for the barrel, almost as deep as the pond itself and burying it. At least I'll be getting rid of unnecessary gravel around my yard, so two flies with one blow. I think I will use geotextile as well. One worry is cleaning, but that worry I suppose is even with a lined bog?
Still need to get some of the smaller pea gravel, to put between voids in rocks, more planting spots.
Planted one of those golden acorus varieties a bit further from the overflow spot, so shouldn't be an issue. Algae's slowly covering the sides, doesn't look that bad, one thing I did not do at all is fix the creases when I was filling it up, I don't have many but one side is particularly ugly.
Still need to get some of the smaller pea gravel, to put between voids in rocks, more planting spots.
Barrel's pretty big, makes me wonder how would do you even clean bog filters? This won't be above ground either, it'll be pretty much buried with its top peeking out, so once it's in, and with gravel and rocks no amount of man strength will move it. I like it though, big enough to plant it.
Attachments
I dug the hole out today. I didn't know where I'd put the barrel, I ended up digging a hole next to the tree, no major root system though which is fortunate. I would have been better with liner I feel though, it'll be a bit tougher to hide the lip on top. But I'm gonna try to create a spillway so it should be ground level.
The hole's about 3x3, 140g, I think someth. Just need to put a bulkhead, connect the pipes, and that's about it done.
The cherry tree fooled me though, I thought it'd be a whole lot of roots, but no, there was one big root, and that is it. Original plan was other side of the pond, this is better though, more sun here and looks more natural with the plants.
I think it's a wise decision to use geotextile even with this barrel which seems quite heavy grade but better to stay safe. The depth is an interesting question though, I think I'll have it shallow.
The only real annoying part about this is the spillway, it seems making it on your own is not as easy as one would think it would be.
The hole's about 3x3, 140g, I think someth. Just need to put a bulkhead, connect the pipes, and that's about it done.
The cherry tree fooled me though, I thought it'd be a whole lot of roots, but no, there was one big root, and that is it. Original plan was other side of the pond, this is better though, more sun here and looks more natural with the plants.
I think it's a wise decision to use geotextile even with this barrel which seems quite heavy grade but better to stay safe. The depth is an interesting question though, I think I'll have it shallow.
The only real annoying part about this is the spillway, it seems making it on your own is not as easy as one would think it would be.
I strongly advice lining inside your barrel then you can cut one edge of the barrel making your spill way by then draping the rubber where you cut the edge of your barrel " no leaks" trust me making a spill way and then connecting it and making it WATER TIGHT will probably require melting plastic and fusing not overly difficult but hard to get the right plastic soldering rods
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It's quite complicated since I don't want the barrel to be sticking out a lot, if it were higher it would simply drop into the pond with no issues. But higher also means I gotta place rocks or build up soil round it.
I thought about 3d printing, there are some models out there. But not sure about that.
The easiest way of course is drilling a hole and attaching an small pipe, no leaks then and would go straight to the pond. Perhaps that is what I should do, then I could buy the premade spillway and attach it easily, I think I might just do that to be honest.
your not getting it . plastics leach oils, and in doing so caulking's and glues generally do not work. The bulked can work but are dangerous as they can get blocked up very quickly and have water back up and over the sides. CAULKING CAN WORK FOR A TIME BUT GENERALY FAIL PRETTY QUICKLY
I am just gonna go with a smaller pipe outlet that drops the water into the pond, then I'll get a waterfall spillway sometime in the future and attach it to the pipe, I think those plastic spillways sold are meant to be attached to a pipe of certain size. This will allow me to have the barrel not stick out and can upgrade to a spillway. That's the plan anyway, better than dealing with glues and adhesives which I thought was going to be a tough thing from the start.
I am not sure how to plan so that there's even flow of water through the bog, I know that's an important thing. I thought about having a perforated pipe at the bottom and then just build up big rocks then smaller as I get to the top, that I think will work.